On This Day

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Athletes Born on January 2

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  • 1855 Frank Hadow, British tennis player (Wimbledon 1878; first exponent of the lob), born in London, England (d. 1946)
  • 1868 Arthur Gore, British tennis player (Wimbledon 1901, 08-09), born at Lydhurst, England (d. 1928)
  • 1870 Tex Rickard, American boxing promoter and entrepreneur (founder NHL New York Rangers; builder third incarnation of Madison Square Garden, NYC), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1929)
  • 1885 José Méndez, Cuban Baseball HOF pitcher (NgL World Series 1924; 3 × NgL NL pennants; Kansas City Monarchs), born in Cárdenas, Cuba (d. 1928)
  • 1897 Jim Londos, Greek wrestler (d. 1975)
  • 1921 Glen Harmon, Canadian ice hockey defenceman (Stanley Cup 1944, 46: NHL All Star 1949, 50; Montreal Canadiens), born in Holland, Manitoba (d. 2007)
  • 1926 Gino Marchetti, Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive end (Pro Bowl x 11), born in Smithers, West Virginia (d. 2019)
  • 1931 Robin Marlar, English cricket spin bowler (Cambridge University CC, Sussex CCC) and journalist (The Sunday Times; "The Story of Cricket"), born in Eastbourne, England (d. 2022)
  • 1947 Aleksandr Tikhonov, Russian biathlete (Olympic gold biathlon relay 1968, 72, 76, 80), born in Uyskoye, Chelyabinsk, Russia
  • 1947 Calvin Hill, American NFL running back (Pro Bowl 1969, 72–74; All-Pro 1969, 73; Super Bowl 1971; Dallas Cowboys), born in Baltimore, Maryland
  • 1947 Lanny Bassham, American sports shooter (Olympic gold small-bore rifle, 3 positions 1976; silver 1972), born in Comanche, Texas
  • 1954 Lyudmila Borozna, Russian volleyball player (Olympic gold USSR 1972), born in Saint Petersburg, Russia
  • 1957 Lynne Cox, American long-distance open-water swimmer known for easing Cold War tensions by swimming from the US to the Soviet Union in 1987, born in Boston, Massachusetts
  • 1959 Kirti Azad, Indian cricket all-rounder (7 Tests; 25 ODIs) and politician, born in Darbhanga, India
  • 1960 Raman Lamba, Indian cricketer (opening batsman 1986-87)
  • 1961 Craig James, American NFL running back and sports commentator (Pro Bowl 1985; New England Patriots; ABC, ESPN), born in Jacksonville, Texas
  • 1963 David Cone, American baseball pitcher (perfect game 1999; AL Cy Young Award 1994; 5 × MLB All-Star; World Series 1992 Toronto Blue Jays; 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 NY Yankees), born in Kansas City, Missouri
  • 1963 Edgar Martínez, American Baseball HOF third baseman and DH (7 × MLB All-Star; 5 × Silver Slugger Award; AL batting champion 1992, 95; Seattle Mariners), born in New York City
  • 1964 Pernell Whitaker, American boxer (Olympic gold 1984, 4-division world champion), born in Norfolk, Virginia (d. 2019)
  • 1964 Rumesh Ratnayake, Sri Lankan cricket fast bowler (23 Tests, 73 wickets; 70 ODIs), born in Colombo, Sri Lanka
  • 1965 Greg Swindell, American baseball pitcher (World Series 2001; MLB All Star 1989; Houston Astros, Cleveland Indians, Arizona Diamondbacks), born in Fort Worth, Texas

François Pienaar (57 years old)

1967 South African rugby union flanker and captain (29 caps; Rugby World Cup 1995; Transvaal, Saracens), born in Vereeniging, South Africa

François Pienaar
  • 1968 Anky van Grunsven, Dutch equestrian rider (Olympic gold dressage 2000, 04, 08; World C'ship gold 1994, 2006), born in Erp, Netherlands
  • 1968 Scott Mitchell, American football quarterback (Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions, Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals), born in Salt Lake City, Utah
  • 1969 Glen Johnson, Jamaican boxer (IBF, IBO and Ring magazine light heavyweight titles 2004-05), born in Clarendon Parish, Jamaica
  • 1969 Róbert Švehla, Slovak NHL defenceman (Florida Panthers 573 games; Slovakia 44 games), born in Martin, Slovakia

Tommy Morrison (1969-2013)

American boxer (WBO heavyweight title 1993) and actor (Rocky V), born in Gravette, Arkansas

Tommy Morrison
  • 1969 William Fox-Pitt MBE, English equestrian (Olympic silver team 2004, 12; bronze 2008; World Equestrian Games gold team 2010), born in London, England
  • 1970 Anthony Stuart, Australian cricket fast bowler and coach (3 ODIs; 8 wickets @ 13.62; hat trick 1997), born in Newcastle, Australia
  • 1970 Glenn Cadrez, American NFL linebacker (Super Bowl 1997, 98; Denver Broncos), born in El Centro, California
  • 1970 Royce Clayton, American baseball shortstop (MLB All Star 1997; SF Giants, St Louis Cardinals) and actor (The Rookie, Moneyball), born in Burbank, California
  • 1971 Aamer Nazir, Pakistani cricket fast bowler (6 Tests, 20 wickets; 9 ODIs; Lahore CC), born in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
  • 1972 Mattias Norström, Swedish ice hockey defenceman (LA Kings captain 2001-07; World C'ship gold Sweden 1998), born in Stockholm, Sweden
  • 1973 Chris Woodruff, American tennis player (Canada Masters 1997) and coach (University of Tennessee), born in Knoxville, Tennessee
  • 1974 Ludmila Formanová, Czech athlete (World C'ship gold 800m 1999), born in Čáslav, Czech Republic
  • 1974 Tomáš Řepka, Czech soccer defender (46 caps; Sparta Prague, Fiorentina, West Ham United), born in Slavičín, Czech Republic
  • 1975 Reuben Thorne, New Zealand rugby union flanker and captain (50 caps; captain 2002-03; Canterbury Crusaders), born in Christchurch, New Zealand
  • 1976 Danilo Di Luca, Italian road cyclist (Giro d'Italia 2007), born in Spoltore, Italy
  • 1977 Brian Boucher, American NHL hockey goaltender, 1999-2013 (Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, and 5 other teams; NHL modern record for longest shutout streak 332:01, 2003-04) and broadcaster, born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island
  • 1980 Mac Danzig, American mixed martial artist (The Ultimate Fighter 6 lightweight 2007), born in Cleveland, Ohio
  • 1981 Maxi Rodríguez, soccer midfielder (57 caps; Atlético Madrid, Newell's Old Boys), born in Rosario, Argentina
  • 1981 Pedrie Wannenburg, South African rugby union flanker (20 Tests; Bulls, Ulster, Castres, Oyonnax), born in Nelspruit, South Africa (d. 2022)
  • 1982 Athanasia Tsoumeleka, Greek race walker (Olympic gold 20k 2004), born in Preveza, Greece
  • 1985 Heather O'Reilly, American soccer midfielder (231 caps; FIFA Women's World Cup 2015; Olympic gold 2004, 08, 12), born in East Brunswick, New Jersey
  • 1985 Ivan Dodig, Croatian tennis player (6 x Grand Slam doubles titles; Davis Cup 2018), born in Međugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • 1991 Josh Taylor, Scottish boxer (undisputed world light-welterweight title 2021), born in Prestonpans, Scotland
  • 1998 Ollie Pope, English cricket batsman (Test HS 205; Surrey CCC, Welsh Fire 100 CT), born in London, England


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